Title
Directing the Public Works Department to solicit input from residents to develop draft goals and objectives for implementing a system of organized trash collection.
Body
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council and Mayor Chris Coleman are dedicated to making Saint Paul one of the most sustainable cities in the United States and are committed to protecting the environment and public health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy and natural resources; and
WHEREAS, Minnesotans produce, on average, more than one ton of garbage per person each year - more than 6 million tons annually, a substantial amount of which is placed into landfills or incinerated, resulting in wasted resources; and
WHEREAS, in the last ten years, mixed municipal solid waste (MMSW) generation has grown by 8 percent and recycling tonnage have remained essentially flat; and
WHEREAS, waste sent to landfills and incinerators generates substantially more carbon emissions relative to waste that is recycled or composted; and
WHEREAS, in 2009 the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) commissioned a study (Analysis of Waste Collection Service Arrangements) and surveyed 50 Minnesota cities comparing open and organized MMSW as well as recycling collection systems which revealed that organized collection systems consistently result in lower overall costs (16-34%) to consumers; recycling rates were typically higher; and there was a reduction in noise pollution, road wear, air emissions and fuel consumption; and
WHEREAS, in Minn. Stat.115A. subds. 1, 3 Section IV. D. open collection is defined as a system for collecting solid waste or recyclable materials where individual residents and businesses are free to contract with any collector licensed to do business in the city and organized collection is defined as “a system for collecting solid waste in which a specified collector, or a member of an organization of collectors, is authorized to collect from a defined geograph...
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